Oddly enough, Nick Senzel has this in common with his fellow 2016 MLB Draft classmates
A lot has been made of Nick Senzel's lack of success since his major league debut in 2019. The former first-round pick has struggled to stay on the field and, for the third time in four seasons, will end his year on the IL.
Senzel appeared in 110 games this season, setting a career-high for games played. But aside from that, it's been a down-year for the University of Tennessee alum. Senzel hit just .231/.296/.306 in 373 at-bats for the Cincinnati Reds this season.
To say Senzel's future with the franchise is cloudy would be a bit of an understatement. There's a possibility that Senzel could be non-tendered during the offseason, though seems unlikely. Still, the 27-year-old shares a dubious distinction with his fellow 2016 first-round draft mates.
No 1st-round pick from the 2016 MLB Draft has been named an All-Star.
Oddly enough, Nick Senzel is in good company; if you can call it that. While a lot is generally expected out of a team's first-round draft pick, none of the players selected in Round 1 of the 2016 MLB Draft have have been named to the All-Star team.
Mickey Moniak was the No. 1 overall pick. The Philadelphia Phillies selected the high school outfielder with the first pick and has since been traded to the Los Angeles Angels. Mokiak has a career batting average of just .163.
Ian Anderson, Riley Pint, and Corey Ray rounded out the Top 5 draft picks that year. Anderson has had success with the Atlanta Braves, but a 5.00 ERA and 1.513 WHIP suggest that his success may be fleeting.
Cleveland Guardians' pitcher Cal Quantrill (No. 8 overall pick) has pitched well for the AL Central Champions this season and Kyle Lewis (No. 11 overall pick) won AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2020.
The Minnesota Twins still have high hopes for Alex Kirilloff (15th overall pick) and Los Angeles Dodgers' infielder Gavin Lux (20th overall pick) is finally starting to live up to the hype. But overall, Round 1 of the 2016 MLB Draft has yielded a lot of below-average major league talent.
Of course the 2016 MLB Draft was not a complete disaster. Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds, New York Mets All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso, and Cy Young Award-winners Shane Bieber and Corbin Burnes were all taken in Round 2 or later that year.
By the look of things, Nick Senzel is likely to get one more reprieve with the Cincinnati Reds heading into the 2023 season. At one point this season, the Reds had three players (Senzel, Justin Dunn, and T.J. Zeuch) from the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft on the roster.